Monday Matters from Laura Baxter, Executive Director

Sexual
violence is any sexual activity where consent is not freely given. According to
the Center for Disease Control, Sexual violence is a serious public health
problem in the United States.

More than 1 in 3 women and nearly 1 in 4 men
have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact at some point in
their lives.

There are 42 million survivors of child
sexual abuse living in the U.S. today.

Please
join us for National Denim Day – April 24th – as a symbol of protest against misconceptions around sexual
assault. The event was originally created by Peace Over Violence in response to
a Supreme Court case in which a rape conviction was overruled because the
victims’ tight jeans implied consent.

While there is no way to eliminate the change that something may happen to you or someone you care about, there are strategies that may reduce risk and give confidence to step in to prevent sexual violence. Read more at RAINN.

Victims
do not earn or deserve the abuse they experience. The only one responsible for
sexual violence is the rapist.